Mobile County schools superintendent the second-highest paid in Alabama

View full sizeMartha Peek is the second highest paid schools superintendent in the state of Alabama.

MOBILE, Alabama -- In signing a contract with a salary of $200,000 per year to lead the state’s largest school system, Mobile County schools Superintendent Martha Peek isn’t the highest paid schools leader in Alabama.

She’s the second-highest, according to figures provided by the Alabama Association of School Boards, compiled late last year. And several superintendents of much smaller school systems make near her salary.

Trussville City Schools Superintendent Suzanne Freeman — once a finalist for national Superintendent of the Year — is the highest paid, according to the list. She receives $202,025 to serve a system near Birmingham of 4,100 students, compared to Mobile County’s 61,000.

The superintendents of both Auburn and Tuscaloosa city school systems aren’t far behind, at $195,000 apiece, according to the list. Those are followed by superintendents at systems in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Mountain Brook and Hoover, all making at least $180,000.

In Baldwin County, which has about 28,000 students, Superintendent Alan Lee receives $175,000. Wayne Vickers makes $132,000 leading the 2,000-student Saraland schools.

Satsuma’s interim superintendent, Joe Walters, has a contract that would equal $120,000 over a year, and Chickasaw’s superintendent, Kyle Kallhoff, is on a consulting contract that would equal $104,000 over a year.

Satsuma and Chickasaw just became independent systems this summer, and will have an estimated 1,400 and 900 students, respectively.

The Mobile County school board voted unanimously Tuesday to sign a full-time contract with Peek, a Bayou La Batre native who has been with the school system for about 40 years. After working her way up from classroom teacher to principal to deputy superintendent, she began serving as interim superintendent in January.

She never applied for the permanent position, but was chosen by the board after it conducted two searches and interviewed six outside candidates.

Peek’s contract, good for three years, also entitles her to a $1,200 per month vehicle allowance. So, she’ll get a total of $214,400.

Board member Judy Stout said Peek’s salary is fair, especially considering Mobile County’s size. The school system is more than twice as large as any other in Alabama.

"If you were a major investor in a for-profit corporation, hiring a CEO and negotiating their salary," Stout said, "and you had over 90 facilities scattered all over that that person would be responsible for, the largest transportation fleet in the state, the largest food service company in the state and an overall operating budget larger than all of the municipalities in the county, what would you be willing to pay a CEO willing to take on those responsibilities?"

According to the statewide figures, 18 of the 132 superintendents earn at least $150,000.

If the salaries were divided by enrollment, Peek would make $3.28 for each student in Mobile County’s public schools. Trussville’s superintendent would make $48.24 per student; Auburn’s, $27.92; and Tuscaloosa’s, $19.62.

The list of superintendent salaries does not include all benefits that superintendents may receive, such as car allowances or performance bonuses.

Peek’s predecessor, Roy Nichols, drew a base salary of $195,000, which is noted on the list. But the school system also paid $30,000 into a retirement account because Nichols, from Georgia, was not in the state retirement system here. Nichols was also eligible for a bonus of up to $10,000 if he had a positive performance evaluation, though with a struggling budget, he opted several times to take days off instead of the cash.

Peek said she sought a straightforward contract, and did not want to bonuses for work for which she feels her staff would deserve credit.

School board member Bill Foster, who was a longtime local principal, said Peek’s salary is a fair one that rewards her for decades of work for the system.

"It recognized the fact that she comes to work every day and is here all the time, probably more so than any superintendent I have known," Foster said. "She has dedicated her life to the school system."

Nationwide, superintendents of school systems with at least 25,000 students made an average salary of $212,000 back in 2008, according to a survey by the American Association of School Administrators. The average superintendent salary in the Southeast — including school systems of all sizes — was $124,000. 